sclerite

• WordNet 3.6
  • n sclerite hard plate or element of the exoskeleton of some arthropods
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• • n Sclerite sklē"rīt (Zoöl) A hard chitinous or calcareous process or corpuscle, especially a spicule of the Alcyonaria.
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• • n sclerite In zoology:
  • n sclerite Any separate skeletal element or definite hard part of the integument of arthropods; a piece of the chitinous skeleton or crust, as of an insect, in any way distinguished from other parts. In insects the regular or constant sclerites, of which there are many, receive for the most part special names, as sternite, pleurite, tergite, epimeron, epipleuron, etc., or are identified by qualifying terms, as sternal, dorsal, etc. See cut I. under Insecta, and cut under Hymenoptera.
  • n sclerite A sclerodermatous spicule in the substance of a polyp, especially of an alcyonarian.
  • n sclerite A sponge-spicule; a sclere.
  • n sclerite One of the elements which by union or coalescence form the skeleton of a coral.
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• • Sclerite any hard part of the integument of arthropods
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